Other (Special) Appointments

September 1, 2000 - February 28, 2001:Higher Education Specialist, Education for Development and Democracy Initiative, U.S. Agency for International Development (AAAS Science Scholar in Higher Education Program)

Other Professional Contributions

Program Reviews

Science Review Committee, Louisiana Board of Regents - reviewed chemistry programs at several State University campuses in the State of Louisiana, 1992, 2011.

U.S. Agency for International Development (Education for Development and Democracy Initiative, EDDI) - reviewed a partnership project between Mississippi Consortium for International Development and Agostinho Neto University (Angola), 2001

U.S. Agency for International Development, EDDI - reviewed a partnership project between West Virginia State College and National University of Benin, 2001

U.S. Agency for International Development, EDDI - reviewed a partnership project between Virginia Tech and Malawi Ministry of Education, 2001

U.S. Agency for International Development, EDDI - reviewed a partnership project between Howard University and graduate programs at several African Universities

Service on Proposal Review Panels for:

U.S. National Science Foundation

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

U.S. Department of Education

U.S. Department of Energy

American Chemical Society

Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry

U.S. Agency for International Development

International Activities And Experience

Member, The Water Team, Global Environment Center, USAID.: as a team member, I developed Public Private Partnership program in the water sector for developing countries; organized Water and Agriculture session of Global Environment Workshop (July, 2001).

Research and Study Abroad Program, 1994 - Present (Project Director): a research collaboration and training program that sends students and faculty to the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania and Egerton University in Kenya to conduct research during the summer. The program is supported by U.S. NIH.

Chemical Instrumentation Program for Developing Countries, 1993 - 1995 (Project Co-Director): a project to provide opportunities for scientists from Sub-Saharan Africa to travel to the U.S. to participate in chemical instrumentation training workshops. The project was supported by a grant from U.S. Trade and Development Agency to the International Activities Committee of the American Chemical Society. Scientists from eight African countries participated in the program.

Egyptian Foreign Study Program, 1992 - 1994 (Collaborating Scientist, Research Advisor): a program of Egyptian government designed to bring students to selected academic research laboratories to conduct research for advanced degrees to be awarded by Egyptian universities. Under this program, I mentored and served on the Ph.D. dissertation committee of an Egyptian student from Monsoura University.

Water Quality Project for the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, 1984 - 1987 (Project Director ): a collaborative project with scientists at the university of Nairobi, Kenya. The project involved water quality research requiring the collection of water samples from several Great Rift Valley lakes and shipping them to Hampton University; presentation of lectures at the University of Nairobi; and mentoring a Kenyan student who spent a year in the environmental analytical chemistry laboratory at Hampton in conjunction with the project. The project was funded by U.S. NSF.

Travel Award, 1992: to present lectures and establish linkages at University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Sokoine University of Agriculture in Morogoro, Tanzania.

Examination Committees:External Examiner for University of Dar es Salaam (1998); Monsoura University (1993) University of Nairobi (1986).

I.T. Urasa, The Use of Ion Chromatography – D.C. Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrometry for the Speciation of Trace Metals, Final Technical Report, U.S. Department of Energy, Contract Number DE-FG05-86ER13589, 1998.

I. T. Urasa and F. Ferede, "The Use of D.C. Plasma as an Element Selective Detector for Simultaneous Ion Chromatographic Determination of As(III) and AS(V) in the Presence of Other Common Anions," Analytical Chemistry,1987, 59, 1563-1568.

I. T. Urasa In Proceedings of the Water Quality Technology Conference, American Water Works Association, Baltimore, 1987, pp. 557-575.

Hakeem Yusuf, Donati Mosha, and I,T. Urasa, "The Impact of Urban Lifestyles and Water Utilization Practices on the Quality of Water in a Developing Country", American Chemical Society National Meeting, New Orleans, LA. March 2003.

I.T. Urasa, and J.Quaye, "Evaluation of factors affecting the use of chitosan for the determination of lead in environmental media", Virginia Academy of Sciences Annual Meeting, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia, May 1993.

I.T. Urasa and J. Arce, "The use of Chitosan for trace metal determination", American Chemical Society National Meeting, San Francisco, California, April 1993.

I.T. Urasa, "The Speciation of Trace Metals by using Ion Chromatography Coupled with Element Selective Detectors", 18th International Symposium on Chromatography, the Rai Congress Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Abstract Number TH-P-04.

Areas of Research Interests

Research Programs

Water Resources Research: There are three research themes that focus on water resources: (1) investigation of microbial mediation in phosphate removal by wetlands, (2) chemical characterization of biosolids and their impact on ground water quality, and (3) studies of emerging contaminants. These research efforts are supported by an analytical facility that consists of state-of-the-art analytical instrumentation for the determination of nutrients (phosphates and nitrates), heavy metals, organic pollutants, pharmaceuticals and personal care product contaminants.

Study of Environmental Processes at the Molecular Level: This research is focused on studying the interaction of chemical species with solid surfaces and the mitigating effects of these interactions on environmental contamination. It looks at environmental processes at the molecular level, seeking to elucidate how the natural environment is affected by contaminants, and how the affected environment can be restored. The materials under investigation include soils and sediments; bio-materials such as plants and bio-solids; natural organic matter; synthetic chelating agents; and naturally occurring polymers.

Heavy Metal Speciation Studies: This work is aimed at investigating the forms in which heavy metals exist in environmental systems and the factors that influence their distribution. The study has led to the development of new analytical methods which have been applied in the elucidation of the toxicity and other biological effects of heavy metals.

Distribution and Fate of Hazardous Substances in Environmental Systems: This research is aimed at studying the chemistry of pesticides, heavy metals, and other toxic substances in environmental systems. By knowing how these materials behave under various conditions, analytical methods for identifying and quantifying them can be developed.

Grants Received

Water Quality Research:Observing Emerging Water Contaminants ($600,000), U.S. Department of Education Title III Program, 2009-Present.

Establishment of a B.S. Degree program in Biochemistry within the Department of Chemistry, ($290,000, National Science Foundation, 2009 – 2013).

Cooperative Graduate Degree Program in Chemistry, 1995-2000, ($500,000): A program developed in cooperation with Virginia Tech to provide intermediate graduate training at the master's level before embarking on doctoral work. The participating students transfer directly to selected Ph.D. granting institutions upon receiving the master's degree from Hampton.

Acquisition of Teaching and Research Instrumentation, ($292,000) U.S. Army Office , 1998-2000.